Ater Salto
by spauldanz
Summary: This fanfic used to be called "In the Iifa Tree" and is now called "Ater Salto". This fanfic is about the time between the Kuja's death in the Iifa tree and Zidane's return. Enjoy
1. Prologue

Spauldanz' final fantasy IX fanfic In the Iifa Tree  
  
This fanfic takes place after Zidane and Kuja are enveloped in the Iifa tree's roots.  
  
"Kuja! Dammit, don't die on me now! You can't . . ." Zidane looked up, the Iifa tree groaned around him, "Kuja, we have to go NOW . . . Kuja . . . . . . Kuja."  
  
He reached out to Kuja's arm, but before he could touch his brother, a deafening crack rang through the gigantic tree. Zidane looked up. Thousands of roots crashed through the thick bark unhindered by the tough outer shell.  
  
Each of them rushed at him like cannon fire. His entire field of vision was a green mass of oncoming death. The Iifa tree's complaints were drowned out by two sounds: his heartbeat and the incredible sound of the roots. Time seemed to stop. His breathing grew sharp. There was no time to jump. The green freight train crashed. His vision went dark.  
  
"Zidane, you . . . can't . . . why did you . . . go back" Garnet stuttered her words out between her deep sobs which were drowned out by the gigantic spinning blades above her.  
  
She had collapsed below the lip of the railing at the stern of the ship with her arm still resting on the wall; she clutched her necklace tightly. Her tears rolled gently down to the rough and faded finish of the wood below. Catching her short hair and spinning a whirlwind of dark strands about her face, the wind brought a chill to her already cold body.  
  
She sat up, pulled her arms into the recesses of her white shirt, and curled her legs to her chest to warm her body. Resting her head on her knees and leaning to one side, she slowed her breathing and calmed the flow of tears.  
  
How could she let him go? She hadn't even told him the way she felt . . . the princess inside her prevented her, had told her to hold on to her dignity. Where was that dignity now? Why couldn't she have just convinced him to go? Why couldn't she beg? Because she was a princess?  
  
But she wasn't a princess, she wasn't even from Alexandria.  
  
She shifted her weight and gripped her knees tighter to her chest. The smirk on his face when she last saw him below the Hilda Garde was so typical, he knew that going back would mean his death, but he still had that stupid grin. . . he always had that stupid grin.  
  
The twin moons were beginning to fade into the darkness that the ship was flying away from.  
  
The black sky slowly turned gray as the ship began to touch the brilliant fingers of dawn through the slowly receding mist. The top branches of the Iifa tree were only a faint silhouette now, but the memory of the roots crashing into the side and nearly toppling the entire trunk was burned into her mind; she knew Zidane was in the tree, probably still wearing that stupid grin.  
  
What if the next time she saw him his face wouldn't have that grin on it? The face of a cold, pale Zidane crossed her mind, his usual boisterous vigor, gone. What if she never saw that face again?  
  
She couldn't bear it, a new wave of pain flooded her. How would she rule Alexandria without him by her side? How could she do anything without him? She couldn't live without that stupid grin, it had saved her so many times from stumbling and falling.  
  
Now she had fallen and was laying on the cold wooden floor of the ship. Her surroundings flooded back to her, the sky became a deep blue and the sun reflected off of a ladder onto her face. Everyone had gone to the bridge; they must have gotten tired of looking back.  
  
But . . . what if . . . what if Zidane had changed his mind and jumped on the ship as it was leaving, what if he was holding on to the ladder on the side? She stood up and raced to the starboard side of the ship at the rear; peering over the side she could make out the ladder . . .  
  
but no one was attached to it. All she could see was the water below reflecting the ship above. Everything was returning to normal, the mist had completely faded and she looked at the rippling waves below. 


	2. Mikoto

Mikoto gazed across the sea of roots.  
  
The tree was reminiscent of the giant mushrooms on Terra, it was much more beautiful though. The bland sky of Terra could never compare to the colors that composed the twilight of Gaia; the way the purples and reds mixed with the green of the tree made Mikoto feel . . . strange.  
  
Looking up she could only make out the bottom most layer of branches. Strange creatures flying in the air could be seen weaving in and out of the canopy and flying to the outside edge of the gorge where Mikoto stood. Most of them made high pitched cries that called to the rising twin moons and pierced the darkening sky.  
  
The only things she had seen fly was "the invincible" and the airships from Lindblum and Alexandria.  
  
What were those flying creatures above her?  
  
Confused and irritated by her naivety of Gaia she picked up a stick and threw it as hard as she could at the birds above.  
  
"ugh! Hey you stupid things, fly down here! HEEEY!"  
  
Mikoto stopped and looked around, ashamed at her sudden outburst of . . . what? Was she angry? Why . . . was she angry?  
  
Anger was supposed to stem from something that physically bothered her, and nothing was physically bothering her. She just felt an annoyance at what she was unable to control as well as her lack of knowledge of her surroundings.  
  
She stopped walking and thought for a moment. Maybe she wasn't angry but . . . afraid?  
  
The freedom she had been given when she was taken from Terra . . . scared her.  
  
Garland had always told her what to do, she had never needed emotions because she had always been told what to think and how to act. Why should she feel fear? She knew she had nothing to fear: there was no immediate danger, no monster trying to attack her. She was only afraid because she was in a new and unfamiliar place, but she was afraid nonetheless.  
  
Emotions were irrational and a waste of time, she would be much more efficient without them.  
  
The stick she had thrown, clunked down next to her and woke her from daydreaming.  
  
She stood on the ground next to the abyss of roots and pondered what her next action would be.  
  
After jumping from Beatrix' ship Mikoto had found herself pondering the same question over and over again.  
  
What to do? What to do?  
  
She began slowly walking around the edge of the Iifa tree's crevasse, balancing herself with her arms spread so she wouldn't fall into the seemingly endless hole.  
  
She started to think about Zidane. When he had called her his "little sister" she felt something inside herself; it wasn't love, love was too much of a jump for someone just beginning to harness her emotions, but she knew she felt something.  
  
What had happened to him? Was he still in the tree? Why had he gone back into the obviously dangerous sea of roots? She had heard Kuja calling in her head as well, but hadn't Kuja tried to kill Zidane? She knew better than Zidane, Kuja would try to kill her as long as she posed a threat to him, she wouldn't dare go back and try to save him.  
  
Maybe her two "siblings" had fought and killed each other.  
  
Her aimless ambling had led her to a crossroads. The path she had been taking had led her about a mile from where she had landed after jumping from the ship, and most likely continued on for fifty more miles around the entire base of the tree. There was also a giant root to her right, almost protruding straight up from the ground, that led to the giant tree.  
  
What to do? What to do?  
  
She felt a sensation different from the one she felt when Zidane had called her sister, in fact it was just the opposite. She wanted to do something else than what she was doing but . . . she couldn't think of anything to do. Being on the airship, that was . . . well she liked it. On the other hand, she did not like walking around the tree in big circles.  
  
Boredom was familiar to the young girl; but a taste of sugar begets a craving for honey. She wanted more fun, nothing was happening at the moment.  
  
She wanted an airship now to take her flying around with the creatures up in the tree. Maybe she should go climb around the roots and look at the flying things. Perhaps she could catch one; she would like that. That would be . . . fun.  
  
With this decision, Mikoto stopped in her tracks and climbed onto the gigantic brown root to her right.  
  
Her arms were strong for a fourteen year old genome, she had been training everyday in Terra so she would be ready when Garland sent her to Gaia.  
  
She pulled herself up the almost vertical side of the root and looked at the distance between her and the tree.  
  
"That's pretty far" she whispered.  
  
She stood up and stepped forward, one foot in front of the other. Walking slowly so as not to fall, Mikoto made her way down the dark root. Her footsteps echoed back from the black haze below and seemed to make a slow, musical rhythm which she could use to take her mind off of the long way she still had to go to reach the tree.  
  
Before long, Mikoto had reached a formation of brown roots which had swirled around into a plateau that she could walk on without paying attention to her balance. This was a nice spot.  
  
She stopped for a moment and once again looked up into the dark sky, which was beginning to show pinholes filled with light. Mikoto stared into the night and listened.  
  
The creatures above had quieted their squawking, the only noise was the evening breeze which whipped her tail back and forth.  
  
Suddenly she heard . . . ?  
  
Was that singing?  
  
She had never heard the song before. It sounded like a slow, meaningful tune, but it was being sung by someone who sounded . . . hurt. She moved to the edge of the murky brown plateau.  
  
" Hello?? Is anyone there? Who's singing?"  
  
it continued without faltering: whoever it was, they weren't nearby. But it sounded like the singing was right next to her; it was similar to when Kuja called out to Zidane.  
  
That time, she had heard Kuja's voice in her head; this was the same thing.  
  
She stood with her hand on her head and the other on her hip, the voice sounded familiar but . . . CRACK!  
  
A great force crashed down on her head and forced her to the ground. She felt a warm trickle of blood run down her forehead.  
  
"What!?"  
  
she rolled off her belly and looked behind her. A stroper was waving its wooden arms wildly, the knots at the end of each moving closer to Mikoto's position on the ground.  
  
"That was a cheap shot you bastard!" Mikoto yelled while wiping the blood from her forehead.  
  
She quickly stood and gained her balance. The stroper gave her no time to recover, however, and swung two large branches to sandwich her. Mikoto back flipped out of the way and landed, planting her outspread feet, along with the fingers of her right hand, on the rough ground. The heavy crashing arms came within an inch of her face.  
  
Another huge branch came from behind, but Mikoto heard the whoosh and fell on her chest; the dark branch missed and flew above her head. Once again the stroper swept a branch downwards to smash her body. Mikoto rolled to the left to dodge. The arm swiftly crashed down where she had been seconds ago.  
  
She knew the game now, and decided to take the offensive.  
  
Mikoto pushed herself up and jumped into the air as another branch swept below her feet. This time, Mikoto side flipped and pointed a finger at the arm that had swung beneath her. She felt the heat rise from the center of her stomach, through her arm, and into her outstretched hand. Fire leapt from her index finger, into the air, and onto the branch. The stroper roared in pain as soon as it realized that its arm had been completely burned off.  
  
With full fury it swung another dark arm, but Mikoto saw it coming, did a half turn in midair, and cast fira again.  
  
The branch crashed to the floor as the flame ate through it. She landed and waited for the stroper to strike again, but its arms were being drawn back towards the body. The Stroper stopped moving and groaned a deep growl from the center of its trunk.  
  
Before she realized what it was doing it had cast its spell.  
  
A sharp pain spread from her elbow to her forearm. The stroper had missed her body, but her wrist was covered in ice and felt like it had been dipped in acid. She knelt as quickly as she could and hit her arm on the ground to break the ice off, but the stroper had other plans.  
  
Its arms stretched to their entire length again and began swinging them together to sandwich her for a second time. Mikoto looked up and saw the arms moving towards her kneeling body, she cracked the last icicle from her wrist and ran towards the body of the stroper. Sliding under the attempted attack and standing up next to the body of the giant, she jammed her outspread hand onto the hard outer shell of the beast. Mikoto watched as the solid wall of monster in front of her disintegrated into ash. The stroper's howl of pain diminished to a gurgle after only a few moments. Its midsection had a hole the size of her body. It slowly lowered its arms which had crashed together to squash the girl, and leaned to one side.  
  
The Genome jumped out of the way as the gigantic carcass of the stroper fell into the gorge below. She ran to the edge of the plateau and watched it fall to the ground that was a few hundred feet down.  
  
While she watched the remains of the monster bounce off of the roots below, she noticed a plateau similar to the one she knelt on. Shifting her attention from her former enemy she looked closer at the plateau. Suddenly, she began to notice the singing in her head again, but . . . She swung her legs around and sat down with them over the side of the platform. She thought about it for a moment and realized that the singing had continued in her head throughout the battle with the monster, it had never stopped.  
  
When she looked at the platform below, the singing in her head grew louder. Perhaps the source of the singing was somewhere near that platform.  
  
"Alright then!" Mikoto jumped off the side of the plateau. 


	3. Rain and Letters

I know it's been a slow start, that's because I didn't really have a plot in mind when I began writing this, but I've been throwing something around in my head and in my notes. So, I now have a (much) better idea than before about what I am writing. The chapters may be slow for a while still, but I assure you, the story in my head kicks ass. By the way, another result of my brainstorming was a better title, so if you're going to keep reading this it will be under a different title after I print this chapter. Instead of "In the Iifa tree" it will be "?ter salto".  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Garnet stood in her room, alone, gazing out a window. The sky was purpling with the oncoming storm that was moving in from Burmecia. For the past day she had been thinking. Thinking about everything at once. Zidane, Alexandria, Kuja, royalty, Lindblum, Zidane.  
  
She knew that she had to begin her duties as queen. It was unfitting for someone like her to be in mourning, especially for someone who she didn't even know was dead. Besides, he had tried to kidnap her (albeit for a good cause) . . . she tried to convince herself that Zidane was not important to her. He wasn't worth anything to her. . .  
  
but he was important.  
  
He was important to her, everything about him was important; she stopped herself before she began to think of him again, she had done this to herself so many times already. The familiar burning in her eyes returned, crying was beginning to seem like a close friend that would visit her every day.  
  
No good could come from wishing for things in the past; she had to move on.  
  
But . . . somehow . . . she knew that he was alive, ever since she had arrived in Alexandria and concealed herself in her room to think, she felt something inside of her that just . . . clicked. Something told her that if that feeling ever went away, she would know that Zidane was dead.  
  
Once again his pale face flashed before her eyes, she pushed it out of her mind and thought about something else.  
  
Garnet wondered how many people had died from the Bahamut attacks, the numbers were still not in, though Steiner would probably amble in at any minute and tell her that he had finished them.  
  
Thankfully, nothing had happened in the past three days that would take away the precious hours before she had to return to the throne. Something was going to happen, she knew it. Garnet reached forward and unlatched the window to air the room out. The cold wind that entered definitely told of an oncoming storm, it chilled her body and smelled of wet cobblestone.  
  
She leaned her head out the window to look down into the courtyard; the knights of Pluto were running to and fro cleaning up large rocks that had no doubt fallen from the balcony at the top of the palace.  
  
A slight swiping noise that sounded like a door rubbing on carpet told her that someone had entered the room, silently. Garnet reluctantly turned around to greet whoever had entered. She knew that the person probably had some sort of report that would draw her from the window.  
  
It was Steiner looking sheepishly dutiful and holding a letter with a wax stamp that had the Lindblum royal crest on it.  
  
Garnet, putting on the finest poker face she could muster, stood straight and walked to the rigid knight. Steiner knew what she was thinking about, and she knew that he knew, but it was best that she look as normal as possible; she would have to be doing it for the next few months for her people anyhow.  
  
"I hope that I am not disturbing you, your majesty." Steiner characteristically stared straight ahead at nothing while addressing her.  
  
"You're not disturbing me, Adelbert, and don't call me 'your majesty'. We've been fighting side by side for the past few months against an enemy that wished to destroy all of time and space, and nearly did destroy it! We are close enough now that you need not be so formal to me, at least while we're alone like this." Garnet looked at Steiner who was visually having trouble comprehending this remark. Sighing and spinning around again to close the open window, she ignored the fact that he still looked straight ahead at nothing.  
  
"Your highness . . . ah, I have a message from Regent Cid," Steiner held out his hand with the stamped letter. "I also have a report of the progress of the cleanup being made in the town, as well as the death toll, if you wish to hear it"  
  
Garnet turned, sighed again, and decided that her time was up.  
  
"Alright, Adelbert, give me the letter and then find Beatrix. I will hear a full report of everything that has happened in the last three days in the throne room. Its time that I stopped running from my duties." She took the letter out of Steiner's hand and turned to sit on the bench next to her bed.  
  
Steiner saluted and clanked down the hallway away from her room. Garnet looked at the seal on the letter while shutting the door, it was a red crest with the picture of a soldier carrying a down pointed spear.  
  
Garnet opened the letter slowly, hoping that it had some news of Zidane.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dear Queen Garnet, I know that it has been only two days since we left the Iifa tree (he had obviously written the letter yesterday) but I have news about the condition of Lindblum in addition to a request.  
  
The devastation after Atomos and the black mage army attacked us was a troublesome time, but I have received reports that our repairs in Lindblum are commencing faster than ever. We are now seventy five percent done with all three sectors.  
  
The industrial district is still in a shambles, but that's not too important right now; we need to repair the housing in the business district first. However, we do not have as many knowledgeable carpenters here as in Alexandria, nor do we have the manpower. So, I would like to request to borrow the strongest men from your city.  
  
I realize that you have problems much more pressing than us, but I am prepared to return the favor once the repairs are complete and loan my strongest men to your country, in addition I will pay any man who works for my country one hundred gil for each hour worked here.  
  
This will help solve the inevitable economic difficulties in the trade between our countries after we complete the repairs. I would also like to request an audience of your highness so that I may discuss some issues that have come up since I have returned; the overuse of mognet, the issue of the cleanup of Burmecia, and finally, a band of one hundred black mages that has been found in Pinnacle rocks.  
  
The final bit of news is not as shocking as it sounds, the mages are all completely unconscious, that is, they do not seem to speak or have coherent thoughts like those in the black mage village. They do not respond to anything, but are not dead; their eyes still glow under their hats and, every once in a while, they fight back with the same powers as any normal black mage when they are threatened by a monster.  
  
Also, one of them seems to have wings, but he never moves at all. Other than this, my patrols have not found anything out of the ordinary anywhere around Lindblum or the valley below. Overall, the area near us seems to be in tiptop order.  
  
Anyhow, I would like your highness to come to Lindblum in two days, but if that time does not suit you, come at a time that will. Eternally yours, Regent Cid  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The news of the repair of Lindblum did not surprise her, it was a huge place filled with incredibly hard workers, and Cid's idea of exchanging men to help with the repairs was a stroke of brilliance in diplomacy and economics.  
  
These matters paled in comparison to the black mages that his soldiers had found in Pinnacle Rocks, though.  
  
How could he take it so easily? It sounded like he didn't care at all that a possibly deadly group of mages, who had attacked his city at one point, were just outside his door. How he could be such a genius politically and such an idiot when it came to the safety of his city was beyond her.  
  
Garnet quietly laughed for the first time in a long while  
  
"God! I sound just like father."  
  
a knock on the door and the subsequent entrance of her one-eyed general and advisor, cut her laughter short.  
  
Beatrix had a warm smile on her face, a drastic contrast to the usual frown that she had during battle. Garnet blushed at her earlier outburst and looked at the beautiful older woman awkwardly. Beatrix just smiled as if she knew what Garnet had been laughing about and said.  
  
"Your highness, there are numerous duties to be attended to in the throne room. I know that you're still recovering from . . . well you're still recovering, but we need you to make a few crucial decisions about the rebuilding of Alexandria. It sounds as though you have thought enough about . . . everything, and that you are ready to come down now. Vivi is here to see you, and Eiko has been asking about you since you've . . . secluded yourself."  
  
Garnet knew that both of them had been wondering about her, they both had been peeking in the door every once in a while, trying to be inconspicuous but failing miserably. She made a half smile at this thought and stood up from her seat  
  
"Alright, I will come down. Besides, we must have a conference about Regent Cid's letter. I fear that he is taking a serious situation too lightly." 


	4. Queen Garnet

Garnet stepped into the throne room and looked out over the standing crowd of nobles and peasants who had come to request various services of her. Noting the silence in the room and the awkward looks of the people who stood, Garnet walked to the chair that her mother had once occupied.  
  
She swept her hand along the finished mahogany surface and sat down slowly.  
  
The sixteen year old looked like a child in the throne, her small body barely sinking into the crimson cushions that engulfed the entire chair.  
  
Looking out over the crowd, she could see the waiting faces of her people. She was determined to be a just and benevolent ruler, but her heart wasn't ready; her face displayed this fact to the entire room. Steiner stood to her left and Beatrix to her right, both looking like they had done this thousands of times before (which they had). Steiner stepped forward and boomed out in his deepest voice.  
  
"Announcing Queen Garnet til Alexandros the Seventeenth. The Queen will hear the request of . . ." Steiner looked at a piece of parchment with the order of people to speak to Garnet "Emuin Marle of Alexandria!"  
  
Beatrix leaned over and whispered into Garnet's ear, "This woman wishes to speak to you about the legality of keeping Moogles as pets."  
  
Garnet rolled her eyes at the question that had been debated in Alexandria since the beginning of time: did moogles choose their owners or did owners choose their moogles? A plump middle-aged woman stood in the first row of chairs and walked to the center of the floor to address the queen. Garnet shifted her focus from the crowd of people to the red-faced woman and listened to her ranting for the next twenty minutes.  
  
After the red-faced woman was:  
  
"Sir Renovo of Treno!" who wanted free reigns to study and possibly revive a few of the left over black mages from the mage wars; as well as  
  
"Lady Stella of Treno!" who wanted to purchase a rare stellazio that was found in the rubble of one of the walls of the Alexandrian palace; but the strangest occurrence came from,  
  
"Sir Alfonzo Baldash Packardo Remi Cornello the nineteenth!" who requested equal rights for oglops, and promptly let fifty of them jump out from his coat.  
  
The subsequent minutes consisted of the Knights of Pluto trying to contain the oglops, of which, numerous had decided that the best place to be was down the red-faced lady's blouse.  
  
Garnet watched the Knights, one by one get pummeled by the woman as they tried to contain the oglops in her dress. Steiner finally had to step in and bear hug the woman to shake the contents of her dress out; The oglops finally fell out, as well as various wallets and purses of people around the room.  
  
The fiasco would have made even Amarant burst out laughing, indeed Beatrix was having a hard time concealing her amusement; tears of hilarity were welling up in her eyes at the pain of having to hold her composure. Garnet, though, stared at the scene with blank eyes and only acknowledged that it was over when Steiner shooed the mass of people out of the room and walked back to the throne with an exasperated grimace.  
  
"Miss Emuin Marle has been arrested for theft and the articles distributed to each of the people that they were stolen from. My goodness, that was very strange your highness! I don't think we've had that much of a problem, ever! To think that it happened on your first day is horrifying!"  
  
Beatrix clicked her tongue and said in a soft voice.  
  
"That's not true Adelbert. Remember when a certain ten year old girl brought a pet chocobo into the throne room to show her mother?"  
  
"Ahhh, yes. We had to get an expert lasso artist to get it after it attacked anyone who went in the room. It had made its nest there!" Laughed Steiner.  
  
"Hmmmm," was the only thing Garnet could say, partially because she didn't remember and partially because she wasn't listening, "I must speak to you two about the letter that Cid sent to me."  
  
Steiner and Beatrix looked at each other and visibly gave up: the queen was obviously not in the mood to chat, let alone laugh. Beatrix tossed her chocolate hair to one side, and frowned with her left eye.  
  
"What did he write? Is there any news from . . . up north?"  
  
Garnet knew that she meant from the Iifa tree and from Zidane, but chose to ignore the question and continued on with what was written. She explained Cid's plan to share craftsmen to improve on the relations and economies between the countries.  
  
"How ingenious! I wholeheartedly agree with Regent Cid; having our citizens work together will remind them that both of our cities are filled with good people as well as put money in the pockets of the workers." Said Steiner.  
  
"Yes, but what about Alexandria? Many of the people here do not have homes yet. We can't afford to lose our craftsmen until most of the houses are rebuilt." Replied Beatrix.  
  
Garnet nodded in agreement "Both of you are correct. I think that I will respond to Cid's request by giving him the man power after most of the Alexandrian people are situated in their homes. Adelbert, I place you in charge of determining when most of the people have their houses repaired enough to live in. Alright, on to more pressing matters. Cid has informed me of a band of about one hundred black mages found in Pinnacle Rocks."  
  
Beatrix and Adelbert gasped at the same time. Garnet adjusted herself in the seat and merely continued as if nothing had happened. She told them about the catatonic state that the mages were in and the indifference that Cid seemed to give them in his letter.  
  
"Cid has asked me to travel to Lindblum and speak to him personally about his proposition. I will go with Steiner on the Red Rose and ask Cid to take me to see the Black Mages in Pinnacle rocks." Steiner began to say something in protest "Adelbert, I know what you are going to say and I don't want to hear it, I am fully capable of defending myself and you know it. Just in case though I want to take Vivi, Freya, and Eiko along. Are they all still here?"  
  
Steiner cleared his throat in discomfort and answered "Well your highness . . . ah, I mean Garnet. Lady Freya went back to Burmecia to find sir Fratley and help rebuild the city, but Eiko and Vivi are . . ."  
  
Suddenly an extremely bossy voice rang from the hallway.  
  
"NO! Vivi, you can't do that! That's not fair! You can't beat me! You're using my deck of cards that I found!"  
  
Vivi ran through the double doors at the end of the throne room. He scurried across the red carpet going down the center aisle of the chairs and tripped right as he was three-fourths of the way to where the trio was sitting. Garnet looked down at him and saw a little black mage that, even though he had fought the most powerful being in Gaia or Terra, was scared of a six year old girl.  
  
Vivi stood, dusted himself off, and looked up at the queen "Oh! H - hello dagger!"  
  
Just then the source of the bossy six year old voice ran around the corner with her arms outstretched and holding a deck of cards.  
  
"Vivi you'd better come back here! I'm gonna . . .oh HI Dagger!" Eiko smiled at the sight of Garnet who the former hadn't seen since the latter had locked herself in her room.  
  
"Hello Eiko. Hello Vivi. I was just telling Steiner that I wanted to see you for something."  
  
Eiko jumped up the steps that led to where Beatrix, Steiner and Garnet were sitting. Apparently she had forgotten Vivi's offense.  
  
"What!? Are we gonna go find Zidane?"  
  
Garnet's heart sunk again and she choked at the six year old's bluntness. She regained her composure and let it slide.  
  
"No . . . we're going to Lindblum. I want you and Vivi to come along with Steiner and I, we're leaving in about an hour."  
  
Steiner turned to face his queen "Ah excuse me your highness," He said, forgetting that she had told him to call her by her first name, "but don't I have to survey the city and see how many people's homes are repaired? Shouldn't we put off the visit until later?"  
  
Beatrix piped in "Adelbert, which sounds more urgent to you? A count of the repaired homes in Alexandria? or a group of black mages that could go on a rampage and destroy the entire continent? I will take the survey if the queen wishes, you must go with her and, you know, perform your sworn duty of being her bodyguard."  
  
The sarcasm was biting but it was just to tease the man whom the general had fallen in love with. "Alright. We'll all leave in an hour to Lindblum." Said Garnet. 


	5. Mikoto and Zidane

I'm back ladies and gentlemen, sorry for the delay I haven't been in a writing mood because college just started.  
  
A soft pile of dead vines broke her fall. For a moment Mikoto felt a weakness in her legs, it was about a twenty foot drop, but nothing seemed to be broken.  
  
She pushed off the heap of lifeless vines and stumbled for a few steps, but her legs held her small body from tumbling to the ground. Her surroundings were quite unwelcoming, she could see as far her hands, but her feet were too distant for her to make out; it felt like she was trapped in a globe of darkness.  
  
Walking without tripping into the abyss was surely going to be a trial. She wiped her forearm across her brow to remove the mixture of sweat and blood that had been concocted there and looked at the red streak on her arm; there wasn't much, the wound on her forehead was probably healed already.  
  
That was good, she wouldn't have to worry about falling asleep from lack of blood. Although she would probably have to worry about falling asleep anyhow, she was extremely tired; it was long past eleven o' clock and she was suffering from some major interplanetary time zone changes.  
  
Tiredness was something she could deal with, though. Tiredness was a physical feeling in her body, it wasn't an emotion, and certainly wasn't irrational. She thought back to her fight with the stroper.  
  
That was rational.  
  
The pain, adrenaline rush, and heavy heartbeat; those were all physical responses to outside stimuli. After the fight, though . . . she felt the ifear/i of coming close to death. She was ihappy/i that she had beaten the beast. She felt icurious/i as to why it had attacked her.  
  
None of these emotions were physical changes in her body, they were all just . . . there. Emotions were irrational. They were useless! How any creature with emotions could have survived through millions of years of evolution was a mystery. Emotions made one do stupid things for stupid reasons.  
  
Mikoto thought of Zidane jumping into the gigantic pit filled with vines, that was a perfect example: the only reason he was risking his life were the emotions he felt for Kuja. If Zidane had just turned around and not thought twice about his brother he would probably be back in Alexandria living like a king.  
  
She knew better than him, she would ignore her emotions and think only in a logical manner; this would improve her chances of survival. She wouldn't take any stupid risks. Mikoto stopped thinking for a moment. She had, fortunately, not stepped into a crevasse while lost in thought, it was probably best to stop thinking and look at the situation at hand.  
  
Her interest flipped back to the singing. It continued in her mind and was much stronger where she stood as opposed to the platform which she had jumped from. She turned her head to the left and right. There was only blackness of course, but she could sense where the singing was coming from by the volume of it in her head.  
  
When she looked straight ahead the singing almost completely drowned her thoughts out; when she looked to the left or right the singing died down to a whisper. Mikoto took a step forward, careful to feel out with her foot to make sure she had a place to step in the first place, and gradually made her way along the platform of roots, sensing where she should go by the song in her head.  
  
" I'm not going crazy, there must be some explanation for this . . ." she whispered.  
  
Before she could finish her thought, Mikoto stepped onto something much more firm than the spongy surface of the roots. Suddenly, a circular glyph on the floor lit with a soft blue glow and the entire platform she stood on was illuminated. She was standing in the middle of the swirl of roots and looked down at a glowing metal plate lodged in the floor. It was beginning to move down. She quickly jumped onto the shining elevator before it could descend into the tree without her.  
  
The lift moved rapidly down the hole and exposed a room larger than she had ever seen before. Surprisingly, she could see the entire area inside the tree. It was lit by moonlight coming through a hole in the bark. That must have been where the roots crashed through the side of the tree. The roots were gone now, they had probably returned to their usual resting spot once they had smashed through.  
  
There wasn't much in the area besides the vast brown walls that seemed to travel up for miles; the only things she saw were a few piles of bramble strewn about the floor and a tall pedestal placed in the center of the area. The plate groaned and shook slightly as it set down on the dirt floor of the inner tree and began to move up as soon as it touched bottom.  
  
Mikoto jumped down to the dusty floor before it got too high. The singing in her head was deafening now, all thoughts had been pushed out, save an undying urge to stop the singing. The canvass of her mind's eye was completely blank as she ran towards the pedestal in the center of the room.  
  
"Okay! Okay! I'm here! What do you want me to do?" yelled Mikoto at the top of her lungs, even though she was the only one that heard the song. "Hey! Where are you?"  
  
The singing stopped.  
  
"Mikoto," a lifeless voice said "up here."  
  
The most obvious place was on the platform, that was what whoever said "up here" was talking about. She climbed up the side which was quite smooth and difficult to hold on to, and looked towards the center of the pedestal. There were two bloody and beaten pulps which both had tails. One was moving; the other was not. Suddenly, the moving form wheezed a sentence.  
  
"Hey . . . Mikoto . . . long time . . . no see"  
  
"Zidane!?" she rushed to her battered brother "how . . . what happened? Where's Kuja?"  
  
Zidane painfully rolled to the side and flopped his arm out towards the form next to him. Mikoto ran over to Kuja and rolled him off of his side.  
  
The "Angel of Death's" body was utterly destroyed. His cold eyes hollowly stared towards the infinite darkness of the trunk above. His chest no longer rose and fell with the breath of life.  
  
He was dead.  
  
Mikoto knelt, bowed her head, and closed his eyelids; they were cold to the touch and caused a shudder through her body. She had never seen a dead person before, let alone a dead brother.  
  
Her decision to ignore her emotions died with a quiet tear that slowly made its way down her cheek. Despite never having spoken with Kuja, she felt a connection that made her feel strange. She was . . . sad, and . . . scared . . .  
  
She was scared again?  
  
Why? Nothing was directly threatening her . . . the only thing that made her scared was the insecurity she felt about the future. She had no reason to be sad either; she had never met Kuja! How could she feel anything for him at all? The connection between her and her dead brother couldn't be familial, she had never had a connection with him when he was alive . . . why should she cry for someone who had tried to destroy everything she knew? iCould/i she have a connection with such a person? She definitely felt sad, though. Maybe she was sad because . . .  
  
because . . .  
  
being dead . . . meant you were gone forever . . . no matter who you were.  
  
Perhaps she was sad because . . . she was kneeling overtop of a person who, despite the many masks he wore, was once just as scared of his future as she was.  
  
Perhaps she felt a connection with Kuja because he too had once been her peer as a living being. He now lay beneath her, a lifeless mass of cells that would soon melt away into the soil, all his choices taken from him. He could never repent for his sins, he could never change; he would always be who he was when his last breath left his body.  
  
It wasn't fair, why did he . . . why did any living creature have to die?  
  
She felt a swell of emotions that a normal person would have difficulty explaining, let alone a person who had never dealt with emotions before. Emotions were irrational, she thought again. She couldn't give in to them. The fear, sadness and pain dwindled. She forced back her last tear and turned to her other brother. 


	6. Wolves

"Zidane, what happened? Can you speak?" she asked her battered brother, " Did the roots of the tree attack you? . . . . . just nod if yes."  
  
Zidane was prostrate with his ear to the ground. His right arm was facing the side of the platform and twisted in an odd direction, his left was still pointing at Kuja's body. He shifted his neck muscles up and down, with what looked like a huge strain on his energy and nodded as well as he possibly could. The sight was disturbing, to say the least; the strongest fighter in Gaia looked like a rag-doll that had been tossed through a brick wall.  
  
"Do you think you can walk?" Zidane's neck twisted to indicate a no.  
  
When his face turned towards Mikoto, she caught her first glimpse of his eyes. Their deep blue color reminded her of the dark waters she saw in the ocean near the Iifa tree. They were beautiful and calm on the exterior, but underneath, a torrent of things was happening. His drooped eyelids portrayed the pain and tiredness he felt, but the outer tips of the eyes were turned up just enough to indicate a sense of joy. The joy of triumph over death, the joy of thoughts of loved ones, the joy of forgiving Kuja. Probably every bone in his body was reduced to oatmeal, but his eyes told the story of a young man that knew he would return to civilization alive.  
  
"I'm going to try and heal you as best I can, okay? but I don't have enough energy to cast many more spells and I don't have any healing potions. Where does it hurt the most? Can you point to it?" she looked intently as he lifted his hand to point to a part of his body. He stretched his finger out and pointed to his ribcage. Mikoto lifted his shirt and looked underneath at his chest.  
  
It was the first time she had actually looked at her brother's wounds closely. A huge gash had been swiped diagonally through the flesh on his chest. Fortunately the gash had clotted and was preventing any more blood loss, but it was safe to say that Zidane had lost quite a bit of blood by the amounts that had encrusted on his shirt and stomach.  
  
She lifted her hands to place overtop of the huge slash and concentrated deeply. A white light surrounded her hands and a line went from her open palms to the gash. The skin around the wound began to close and create a much smaller cut. There was still a sign that there had been a deep slash in his skin, though: her cure spell was not strong enough for this sort of injury. She knew that a much more powerful spell would need to be used soon or the cut would open again and cause much more blood loss than before.  
  
She looked at the rest of his body, there were numerous cuts and bruises that lined his arms and legs, the bones were probably broken under the skin as well. Overall the largest injury was the one on his chest. She looked at his face. He stared blankly back at her with the same expression that Kuja had had. In fact the only way she could tell he was still alive was the fact that he was breathing, barely.  
  
She stood up and pointed a palm down at him again and used the strongest cure spell she could muster. He seemed to breath a sigh of relief. She had healed some of his broken bones. Not enough for him to walk, but enough for him to be carried.  
  
"So . . . you can't walk. I'll just have to carry you, I guess. Don't worry, there's bound to be somewhere close where we can make you all better." She said.  
  
She wondered if she would be able to carry his weight, he didn't look too heavy but looks were deceiving. fortunately her looks were deceiving as well: for a fourteen year old girl she was quite strong.  
  
"I'm going to pick you up now, okay? I'll try very hard not to hurt you, but I can't make any promises. We'll just hope that we're lucky and I can carry you all the way out of this tree without anything attacking us."  
  
Almost as if to answer her, a howl rang out through the tree and six pairs of glowing eyes emerged into the moonlight that shone below the platform. A pack of dirty gray wolves had snuck through the side of the tree and were staring straight at Zidane and Kuja. They obviously thought both were prime choices for their next meal; the small girl standing by them would be no trouble at all for such a treat.  
  
"What? Not now! I don't have the time or the energy for this!" she shouted down at the pack of very hungry looking wolves.  
  
Unfortunately, none of them seemed to heed her words and began to pace back and forth around the platform. None of them could jump high enough to make it up the platform, could they? Once again, almost as if on cue, one of the wolves managed to jump and land its front paws on the top of the platform. It pulled itself up slowly and almost made it to the top but Mikoto planted a swift kick directly on its nose. The wolf fell to the floor among its pack members and lay still for a few moments then stood back up and began to yelp and snarl as if nothing had happened to it.  
  
"Stay back I've still got a few spells left in me! Don't try anything!" yelled Mikoto.  
  
The wolves still paid no attention to the small girl. She had to draw the animal's attentions away from her helpless brothers, but she had no weapon and only enough energy for about one or two spells. Mikoto looked for something sharp to use. She picked up a stick and jabbed it at one of the meaner looking wolves.  
  
It came back half as long. That wouldn't work.  
  
She picked up another stick and lobbed it into the distance, hoping that these wolves liked to play fetch. They didn't even look at the stick as it crashed to the floor twenty feet behind them.  
  
A scratching noise behind her told that another wolf had jumped up. She kicked it square between the eyes with her heel and watched it fall back to its comrades. They seemed to be getting restless. The snarling and gnashing of teeth was growing louder. Her last choice was to draw their attention herself. It didn't sound like a great idea, but sitting up on a pedestal for a pack of wolves to eat didn't either.  
  
Mikoto threw all caution to the wind, jumped to the ground, and did a roll which turned her around to face the pack of wolves. Three of them spun to face her and scampered to where she had landed.  
  
"That's right! Come towards me!" she looked at the other three by the platform and shouted "Hey! Over here! I'm a good meal too! Come on!" the wolves by the platform did not turn.  
  
Mikoto extended her hand and called the last bit of energy she had for a spell; the familiar warmth in her stomach moved up to her arm and flew from her fingertips towards the closest wolf. It's fur caught fire. It seemed to move in slow motion as the red and orange flames spread around its body. It fell to the ground, writhing in pain. The wolf gave out a loud yelp and died. One down: five to go.  
  
The incineration of their comrade caught the other's attentions, all of the wolves moved towards the young girl now.  
  
"Yeah, good." She said to herself, "keep them away from Zidane and Kuja. Okay! lets see how fast you guys are!" Mikoto shouted at the wolves and turned to run in the opposite direction.  
  
Her thoughts were drowned out by the panting and howling of the creatures behind her, the only thing she could think was to draw them from her brothers. Both moons were still on the rise, the light that came into the tree lit her entire surroundings. She could see that she had quite a ways to run before she could come to the brown wall of the tree. The taste of dust suffocated her and nearly made her choke, but the race was not yet over.  
  
Mikoto continued sprinting in the opposite direction of the platform where Kuja and Zidane lay. She looked left and right for something to use as a weapon. Mikoto looked behind and saw the dark silhouettes of the creatures closing on her.  
  
She had to think fast. She looked left, nothing, not even a rock or two.  
  
Right. A pile of thorny sticks.  
  
That would do. She faked turning left for two steps then zigzagged back towards the wall of sticks to her right. The wolves bought this maneuver and turned to the left while she turned to the right. Mikoto had given herself a few more seconds with which to set up her trap. She reached the pile of sticks and turned around to face the wolves.  
  
They flung themselves in a large arc, when they realized they had been tricked, and darted as fast as they could in her direction. They slavered at the sight of her, their gray ears folded back for maximum speed, and their yellow eyes pierced her body. They were closing fast. Their sharp breathing became close enough to smell.  
  
Mikoto stood her ground.  
  
Her mind told her that she needed to get out of their way. The first wolf came within an arms length. They were close enough. She front flipped into the center of the pack. The first wolf was caught totally by surprise and was unable to stop in time. He ran into the pile of sticks at full speed and was impaled by a sharp spike that protruded from the bramble.  
  
The other wolves skidded to a halt and drew near their fallen comrade. His body sagged and his life slowly dripped away. The closest wolf moved to its brother's side and gently inhaled the dying animal's scent. She had killed two members of their pack. She was no longer a meal to them, she was an enemy. They bared their teeth and spun around sharply to the left.  
  
Two down: four to go. Mikoto looked around for something else to use. Her lungs were beginning to burn and her legs stung from overuse, but stopping would mean death for more than just herself. The wolves behind her were no longer howling, their hunger was replaced with anger. A bead of sweat rolled down her nose, she knew she could not hold out for much longer.  
  
Suddenly a black area where the moonlight did not hit the ground, caught her attention. A chasm lay about fifty feet ahead of her. She looked at the crack, it looked about thirty feet deep and fifteen across; small enough to jump over but just wide enough to lose a few of her pursuers.  
  
She took the chance and ran towards the crack. What little strength she had was used in a surge of energy to speed her running. She reached the edge of the crack and jumped with all of her might.  
  
Her feet let go of the ground and her body floated into the air. She could see into the chasm below, but the moonlight only went so far; it was deeper than she thought. Gravity pulled her body back to the ground but . . .  
  
it was too long for her to jump.  
  
The edge of the crack came back to greet her. She reached out with her hands to grab at anything that could keep her from falling into the darkness below. Her hands slapped the ground and began to slip on the dirt. There was nothing to grab. She was going to fall.  
  
She had half a second to find a handhold. Her body was below the lip of the gap and still falling.  
  
There was nothing.  
  
She was going to die. . .  
  
at the last second her hand caught something hard.  
  
A rock jut away from the chasm and her hand slid into the space between ground and rock. Her body jerked and came to a halt. No time to celebrate. She pulled herself up.  
  
The wolves saw her jump, but their minds were so clouded by anger that their attention was fixed on her and not on the huge black fissure that opened ahead of them. The first wolf in the pack saw the dark tear in the earth but only recognized that it was dangerous as it slipped down into the blackness below. The others slid to a stop and watched their companion fall to its death.  
  
Three down: three to go. But . . . the gap was between her and the three other wolves.  
  
"Damn! No! No! No!!" she wailed.  
  
The wolves recognized that she was no longer a threat. The gap was too long to jump without a running start. Mikoto was trapped on the opposite side of the dark fissure. Her brothers would soon be the dinner of the wolves if she couldn't get across. She ran alongside of the gap looking for a smaller space she could jump across.  
  
The wolves ran back to the platform. There were two helpless meals there ready to be eaten. They would feast like they had never feasted before. Their fallen comrades were completely washed from their minds. The only thing they thought about was the undying hunger that had led them to this place.  
  
They grew closer to the platform. The smell of blood and flesh heightened their hunger. They could taste the meat in their mouths, nothing could stop them. The alpha male jumped up the platform. The other two wolves followed suit. Before them lay two prime morsels that couldn't fight back, an excellent meal. The closest was the dead one.  
  
They moved in. Their teeth were exposed and glinted in the harsh moonlight. The alpha male darted forward. He opened his mouth to rip a piece of the arm's flesh.  
  
"Nooooooo!" screamed Mikoto but her words were drowned out by something else.  
  
"NO!"  
  
a deep voice rang through the entire tree. The ground shook and something on the platform flashed. Mikoto couldn't see the platform well enough to make out the source of the light. The bright flashing light seemed to be coming from the far side. The entire chamber lit with a brilliant pinkish white color, and a shape was rising from the platform. Mikoto shielded her eyes with her hands and brought them down when she had grown accustomed to the light.  
  
Zidane's body was floating above the platform like he was being held by a string attached to his chest. His head and legs were being pulled down by gravity but he was still rising. Suddenly his body was yanked straight up and down like a limp marionette and the light flashed yet again.  
  
Zidane was flying above the platform, but still seemed to be unconscious. A ringing in her head began. The wolves that had been about to feast upon Kuja were obviously horrified at the pink and white being that had just risen above their heads. The leader backed slowly away from the threat, but didn't run from the awe inspiring sight. Zidane's arms slowly folded across his chest and his knees were drawn up to his torso. His body formed a luminescent ball that glowed with brilliant energy.  
  
The wolves fearful yellow eyes reflected the pink light above them. Their fangs were sheathed within their mouths. Their gray ears lay flat against their heads. They knew it was time to leave. They turned to run. It was too late. Zidane's arms and legs exploded from his body. About twenty bright missile shaped objects seemed to escape a well of energy inside his chest and shoot straight down at the wolves.  
  
They had no chance.  
  
The three of them jumped from the platform and dashed towards the direction they had entered. The missiles were too fast for them. The missiles chased them. The wolves ran faster. The missiles closed in. The alpha male stumbled and fell. His yellow eyes turned towards the oncoming death. Nothing could prevent it.  
  
The light from the explosion reached Mikoto first. Then the sound. The entire floor shook and the brown walls rumbled as if a quake had shaken all of Gaia. All Mikoto could make out, from the outside of the explosion, were three wolf shaped silhouettes slowly falling apart, piece by piece. The fire pulled back in to its origin almost as fast as the explosion had happened.  
  
Nothing was left of the beasts save a pile of ash where each had been standing. 


End file.
